Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Low pressure leadership in 2022 (or any year for that matter) is about understanding that you grow a business by growing the people in the business. It is the people that grow the business, and the way that the leader can facilitate this is through transformational leadership and having the right people in the right roles. Having the right people in the right roles, with a growth mindset, the business growth can take care of itself, and yes, leaders need to be transactional at times, but generally, the better the people are set up for success, the less stress the leader will feel.
Firstly, be sure that as a leader, your team are very aware of what the business and team goals are for 2022. Then, you can transform the team into a high performing unit that can achieve those goals and objectives. Let me explain!
Transformational Leadership
One of the biggest stressors for leaders is how well set up their teams are, and how best they need to be supported so that they can thrive and deliver on the business and team goals. The 1978 concept of Transformational Leadership, as defined by McGregor Burns, remains current in 2021, and leaders who can take themselves out of systems and processes, and focus on the people aspect of what the 2021 business goal achievement will take will have a clearer head knowing that the teams are set up for success. Think about what training will be required. Think about what development will be required.
And of course, think about what systems and processes will be required, but focus on how they can support the team, not how many more systems can be implemented. With the right people, who understand what the business goals are, and who are set up to achieve them, the systems will take care of themselves.
Structure Matters
When it comes to low pressure leadership, another of the biggest stress relievers is having the right people in the right roles doing the right work. Structure matters. Strengths matter. It is difficult for a team to succeed if they don’t have the right skills, knowledge, and experience. The right team structure, with team members in roles that suit their strengths, is crucial for the success of any team. Too often we see leaders trying to do too much with too little and wondering why they end up taking on the lions share of the work … and burning out eventually. Every year end process should include a structure review, and any changes, additions, or upgrades, should be made.
Your Team Knows Best
Having a transformational approach, as well as the right structure, will help to set a leader up for a low stress start to year. What will also assist is the leader’s ability to facilitate team discussion that is focused on ‘how we can all make this happen’. A leader that understands that the team knows best how to achieve their goals and objectives, puts faith and trust in the skills of the team, and actively encourages their contribution and input. And team members are willing to share. This is called ‘psychological safety’ and it is where team members share, and leaders listen. It is where leaders facilitate discussion, and team members engage. It is where the team members take ownership, and the leader can sleep will knowing that the team is committed and in charge of outcomes.
If you would like to learn more about Leadership and keeping your teams psychologically and physically safe, join Anton on one of his monthly webinars in our our events page.
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UPGRADE your Mindset
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